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Born and raised Los Angeleno black guy here. Small business owner as well. Discrimination in general is just something I don't encounter regularly. I'm not saying it happens, but if/when it does, it's subtle enough that I don't outright notice it. Black businesses can and do well here, we just don't have a lot of black business owners compared to other groups here.

I've done a cafe, catering, smoothie bar, etc with no issues that I can see as far as my skin color being an issue. Though, I will say that when meeting with a business counselor for my first business (who also happened to black) I remember her telling me that as a black person trying to start a business in LA, I shouldn't have a lot of hope in it. She might have been projecting her own insecurities and views, but regardless, I didn't appreciate the comment - and I still think about it this day...3 years later. In fact, I occasionally bring up that anecdote when I'm asked to speak about my journey in entrepreneurship.

LA is laid back, but people are out here really hustling and grinding to become successful. I'd like to consider myself among those types of people. If you're not ambitious and persistent, then you won't go far. I wouldn't worry about skin color. You should be aware of it, but its not like you make it. It's much more nuanced.

And for your comment about South LA/South Central...a little offensive. South LA is already looking different. All of LA, in fact, is undergoing change. Gentrification and such is one of the drivers that keeps me motivated to "stay in the game" and succeed in this city that I love so much.

Finally, someone answered that question from experience as a black small business owner. Good to hear that your experiences are positive.

I appreciate this answer. The reality is that race can oftentimes affect your experiences in specific US cities. I even hiked up in the Pacific Palisades one time back in December and was told by a white woman to not go in certain areas alone and be careful of the gangs hanging around certain areas due to my race. Its just reality and I appreciate it when someone can give a candid answer on race relations without getting offended that someone would even dare to ask those types of questions.

The flip side of this is that the white woman herself could be racist, and if you listen to too many people like her you might not be able to go anywhere outside of the housing projects (oh but there would be people who criticize you for that).

You also have to use your judgement yourself towards what areas you like, and what areas you don't like and there's not any one answer for this.

I appreciate this answer. The reality is that race can oftentimes affect your experiences in specific US cities. I even hiked up in the Pacific Palisades one time back in December and was told by a white woman to not go in certain areas alone and be careful of the gangs hanging around certain areas due to my race. Its just reality and I appreciate it when someone can give a candid answer on race relations without getting offended that someone would even dare to ask those types of questions.

Was she referring to Pacific Palisades? No surprise it's an overwhelmingly white neighborhood, so of course a lot of residents have that type of thinking.

Lol, thanks. I am female and yes I am educated. I love multi-culti cities (like NYC) but coming from a place like the NE USA that is somewhat of a melting pot to some degree (and where Blacks represent a decent amount of the population and are doing decently economically), I'd rather not deal with a bunch of racial tension, be treated as "less than" and have no job opportunities just for the sake of enjoying warm weather and nice beaches. NYC has similar issues but economic class and social standing is stressed more than race. I'll just continue visiting CA a few times a year as I always have. I appreciate the honesty. I know everyone wants to speak well of their hometown but it does people a disservice when they try to paint a rosy picture and overlook reality.

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I cannot believe what I read.

Go to Brooklyn.

All of the wealthy parts of Brooklyn are white (Gentrified Northwestern and Downtown Brooklyn in particular). Poor, DANGEROUS parts of Brooklyn are BLACK (or maybe Hispanic in the case of Bushwick). Bedstuy (Do or Die ) was a formerly dangerous Black neighborhood that is gentrifying, and YES there is tension there.

People on this forum are at least able to speak of Laedra Heights as an affluent Black neighborhood in Los Angeles. There are no affluent Black parts of Brooklyn.

North Bronx is predominately Black (with the exception of a few white neighborhoods) and HIGH CRIME to the point where 100 people got busted by a combination of the NYPD and FBI which rolled in armored vehicles and helicopters.

Other Northeastern cities have similar issues with inner city poverty among the Black population. This is a national problem and is certainly not unique to California.

Definitely not taking blog info as gospel. I gather info from a variety of sources and then try my best to make an educated guess from there as to the best route to take when doing something/visiting a place I am unfamiliar with. I'm glad to hear that this is not the situation with the majority of Latinos in LA but at the same time one undeserved killing of a Black man/woman/child is enough to make me think twice and also to exercise caution in areas where racial tension has been reported. I would do the same anywhere else. For example, a Black male friend of mine from MD visited NYC and was threatened by some Italian men in the Bensonhurst area of Brooklyn when he ventured into the area by mistake. If someone Black asks me about living in/visiting Bensonhurst, I'm going to give them an honest opinion based of of my knowledge and experiences. I would hope that I could get the same type of unbiased response about anywhere else in the country from others. I'm interested in LA, have had good experiences each time I visit but I am looking to get a more comprehensive understanding of what it is like to actually live there. This thread appealed to me as an AA and I was hoping to get other unbiased responses from AAs about their experiences.

Also, I did not purposely ignore your statements about the Valley. I merely forgot to address them when composing my responses. Simple mistake. So I do thank you for the info you provided. Keep in mind that "expensive" to me may greatly differ from "expensive" to you based in my geographical location. Albeit, I looked only in areas I was familiar with such as Sherman Oaks, Tarzana and Encino but the prices I saw on Zillow for a small house were of a higher price range (in my opinion). Small houses can start anywhere from as low as $20k in MD depending on the city. I'm sure a house of this price would be near impossible to find in LA. The prices I have seen in LA are comparable to our most expensive areas in MD (e.g. Bethesda) so again it is all relative according to our own personal experiences.

I didn't say that I was taking anyone else's opinions over the two of you but it was the way you initially came at me when I expressed concerns over things I read about online. My statements are not to be taken as blanket statements; they are merely my own personal experiences.

The 1980s Bensonhurst was heavily Italian and there were definitely racist incidents there. The current Bensonhurst is heavily Chinese and Russian. So I don't know if a Black person would still have problems there just because they went to the neighborhood. Neighborhoods can go through rapid demographic changes. I am so rarely in South Brooklyn (I will go to Coney Island some summers) that don't keep up with what's happening there. That's another problem with talking to random people about areas, their areas could be based on old knowledge that isn't accurate today.

I think comparing home prices in Los Angeles and MD is pointless. If you're interested in being a homeowner in LA, if you aren't rich you'll need to find WORK that pays sufficiently for your to buy a home. So the real question is what are your professional career options in LA? Address that and THEN you can realistically explore the housing market in LA. It's really pointless without the income coming in.

The percentage of African Americans including yours truly has been in the high single digits for decades but has been declining as folks seek a higher QOL, solid jobs and steady job growth not to mention tons of affordable housing in cities throughout TX, CO, TN, NC, GA, FL and other middle class-friendly locales.

Sacramento's hostility towards SFR construction thanks to Brown and Pelosi and other liberals, on top of decades of job-killing environmental extremism just aren't middle class friendly period!!!

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